Allrounder Angelo Mathews has been appointed Sri Lanka's limited-overs skipper six months after relinquishing the role across all three formats.
The 30-year-old stepped down last year after Sri Lanka's shock home defeat to Zimbabwe, which he described as "one of the lowest points" of his career. Dinesh Chandimal was named the new Test skipper, while Upul Tharanga was put in charge of the limited-overs side.
Tharanga was stripped of the captaincy after a string of defeats and replaced on a temporary basis by Thisara Perera, who oversaw the team's 2-1 loss last month in India.
"When I stepped down, I never thought of taking over the captaincy again," says Mathews, who is expected to lead the side into the 2019 World Cup in England and Wales.
"I took a few a few days to think about it and, because of a few reasons, I decided to accept it," Mathews said on Tuesday.
Sri Lanka Cricket said Mathews was given the job "on a long-term basis" after he agreed to board president Thilanga Sumathipala's request to shoulder the responsibility.
"We need stability running into the World Cup," said Mathews, who will begin the new phase of his captaincy later this month in a tri-series in Bangladesh that also involves Zimbabwe.
"We've had a few captains over the last few months because of injuries. The other captains did a good job, though we didn't get the results. But going into the World Cup, we need that stability."
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